Industrial Automation Magazine India

Companies need to continuously invest in developing skills of their employees

Published on : Monday 10-04-2023

Darshana Thakkar, MSME Transformation Specialist and Founder, Transformation – The Strategy Hub.

The pressure to bring out new models is high. One of the challenges is retooling. How would advanced automation mitigate this challenge?
With the help of the discrete manufacturing process adopted widely in the automotive industries, manufacturing challenges are a bit easier.
 
With manufacturing layout alterations in the plant, changes can be made without huge capital expenditure. With the cellular manufacturing process, robots can be redeployed in a ‘lift and shift’ process that gives life to an asset beyond its original purpose.
 
New technologies such as mega casting enable combining multiple parts into one large die-cast piece, which can be quickly produced in a single process. By using additive technology with a 3D printer, the dies for such complicated mega parts can be made promptly, with precision.
 
Electric vehicles may use fewer parts overall, but those parts tend to be heavier than their ICE equivalents. Gas tanks have been replaced by batteries, while electric motors with rotors and stators are replacing engine blocks, pistons, and cylinder heads. Much simpler gearboxes are replacing complex transmissions. Six-axis robots are super specialists to handle the task easily and safely to manage a challenging process of high payload and extended reach.
 
For a rapid increase in demand for EVs, the production of EVs with speed is critical for manufacturers. To achieve the speed of output, with the advances in control software, it has become possible to increase the speed of robots that can operate without sacrificing accuracy.
 
Furthermore, a new generation of more powerful six-axis robots can manipulate heavy payloads at maximum extension with fine controls. It has replaced long, winding conveyor routes to transport vehicle bodies within a far more compact footprint than before, saving space and time, and creating flexibility.
 
With vision- and force-control-enabled robots interacting with AGVs, installing components such as underbody battery packs is now easy and perfect. At the same time, the vehicle is still in motion, with the moving platform matching its speed to that of the suspended body while onboard cameras detect and synchronise with critical mounting points.
 
With this new development, the moving line approach has become faster, with no requirement to stop or pause for specific critical assembly. With this approach requirement, floor-mounted shock pins are eliminated. Now it can ripple throughout the factory and make assembly lines less model specific, making it possible to use the same line or production cell for various models. That, in turn, leads to a smaller overall factory footprint, as well as significantly reduced capital expenditure.
 
Robotics is a highly favoured technology for many applications in automotives. What are the strategies for reprogramming these robots quickly for new models of automobiles?
There are two ways of robot programming – either by guiding (online) or by offline programming.
 
Most industrial robots are programmed by guiding a robot from point to point through the phases of an operation, with each point stored in the robotic control system.
 
The other method is offline programming. Knowledge of specific programming languages, like C, C++, Python, Java, etc., is required for offline reprogramming.
 
The simulation tool MATLAB is efficient and helpful for rapid reprogramming of robots. MATLAB is highly useful in designing the entire robotic system. It is widely used in the robotics industry as it is deeply rooted in the foundation and development of robots. One can provide an algorithm or design to this simulation tool, which simulates the result. Simulation helps engineers to refine the system design and eliminate errors before freezing the design.

Further, RoboDK API is a compelling and cost-effective simulation and programming software for industrial robots and cobots. It supports more than 700 robots and more than 50 robot manufacturers, including robots like ABB, Fanuc, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, Motoman, Staubli, and more.
 
The intuitive user interface makes it easy to program a fully functional robot application with little or no programming experience. You can import custom 3D files (STEP, IGES, STL, etc.), to use in your station or import them directly from your 3D CAD software.

RoboDK can help you reduce programming times and project costs for robotic applications. RoboDK simulation allows users to iterate through different solutions before choosing the hardware; assisting users in choosing which robots best suit their intended application.
 
RoboDK has an API available for interfacing with MATLAB and other programming languages, enabling users to leverage their custom algorithms within the RoboDK environment.
 
Key Features of RoboDK API
•         Simulate and program any robot arm (industrial robots or cobots)
•         An intuitive user interface for creating robot programs
•         Automated generation of robot programs
•         API for interfacing with MATLAB® and other languages, and
•         Import CAD files (such as STEP, IGES, STL) to use in the project.
 
Robots do perform many tasks efficiently, relieving humans from the drudgery of simple repetitive tasks. In future humans will be asked to perform the more complicated tasks using new technologies. How do companies plan to manage to upgrade the skills of humans alongside the new machines?
Robots, along with artificial intelligence, are capable of doing many repetitive tasks.
 
To run highly automated assembly, plants need skilled engineers, programmers and maintenance teams to keep them running while constantly adapting to meet new technologies and feature consumer demands.
 
Companies need to continuously invest in developing the skills of their employees. Instead of giving monotonous tasks to workers, companies must employ skilled people to meet the rapidly increasing technology demand in the plant. Alternatively, companies can hire freelance consultants and contractors on a task basis, e.g., predictive maintenance through a third-party consultant.
 
The crucial challenges a company might face are technological obsolescence and the emergence of new features and technology. Students graduating from colleges and universities have the required technical knowledge. But because of the fast pace of technology, it often happens that by the time they join the workforce, the actual technology at the manufacturing plants has been upgraded. To meet such types of situations, technology companies need to associate with academia to prepare the students with real-time updates and learning of emerging technologies.
 
Also, producers of high technology products and developers of the software need to devise specialised learning courses for the workforce of the user companies. Through joint efforts of academia, producers of technology, and the automotive manufacturers, we should jointly develop the ecosystem to maintain fast-paced learning of all the stakeholders.
 
One of the key activities in quality assurance is visual inspection. How would automotive finishing lines plan to integrate robots, vision systems and specially AI into this task?
Vision systems, when coupled with advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, their ability to spot minute defects can now match or even surpass experienced human operators. It is very much helpful in improving the quality and speed of welding operations.
 
These automated systems can automatically assess the quality of a weld in a fraction of a second just by analysing a few rapid-fire photographs.
 
Visual inspection in quality assurance is replaced with vision systems along with AI at many places in automotive industries. To identify any dents, scratches, size difference, colour differences, etc., many quality points are effectively and speedily inspected with the technologies with almost 100 % accuracy. A few examples of visions systems applied for quality assurance in the automotive sector are:
• Multi-Spectrum Lighting technology detects the slightest variations in colour and shading to detect contamination.
• Imaging and detecting parts with slightly different colors and shading, such as O-rings, gaskets, and parts that may come from multiple suppliers.
• Inspect whether a moisture-proof agent is applied correctly on ECUs
• To inspect the position of the fuses with the correct specifications
• To inspect the missing roller in the roller bearing
• Quality of shaft material if there is any crack
• For bearing side inspection, if any crack or damage exists, and
• Examination of an aluminium sheet for glossiness, any dent or hole on the surface.
 
(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)

Darshana Thakkar is MSME Transformation Specialist and Founder, Transformation – The Strategy Hub. An Electrical Engineer followed by MBA – Operations with hardcore industry experience in managing business operations, Darshana is an expert in transformation of businesses that helps them achieve growth with speed and scale. She has invested 27 years in transforming Micro and Small Enterprises. Her rich experience in resolving pain areas and the MSME/SME industry's real-life problems are helping the organisation for quick results. 
 
Darshana has helped many MSMEs to increase profitability & achieve sustainable growth. She is keen on the growth of Indian Startups, providing mentoring and hand-holding support to startups to make them succeed quickly.
 
She is very passionate about supporting women in pursuing their career and life goals. She is actively working for women's entrepreneurship and leadership development.

She is: 
•    Founder and CEO of Transformation
•    Certified Women Director by IICA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India
•    Empanel and recognised Startup mentor and Trainer by CED, Government of Gujarat
•    Registered and Verified Business Advisor – Tata Nexarc, Tata Business HUB, Mumbai, and
•    Chairperson: MSME Support & PRO at Makarpura GIDC Association, Vadodara. 

MSME Transformation and Strategic Advisor – MSME Business Forum India, Darshana has received various accolades:
•    Winner of Gujarat Women's leader award 2022 by CMO Asia
•    Winner of Influential Women leader in business by Insight Success 2022
•    Recognised as India's most trusted consulting company by Insight Success 2022
•    Felicitated by Mentor my board in the gracious presence of Honourable FM Mrs. Nirmala Sitaraman during Women Director's conclave – 2022
•    Felicitated by the president of Makarpura GIDC Association during the Suvarna Jayanti Mahotsav on 17th December 2022 for her excellent contribution in supporting MSME and startup Businesses.

Apart from this, she is an author and publishes her blog, article, and case study related to the industry. Email: [email protected]